The present invention is related to searching for information, for example, searching for information on the Internet. In particular, the present invention is related to searching for information guided by a set of topics such as keywords, wherein the set of topics is not necessarily hierarchical, and wherein during any particular search, any search hierarchy of topics is created on the fly.
As background, the reader is assumed to have read the First Patent Application and the Second Patent Application, both of which are incorporated herein by reference, and are attached hereto as Appendix A and Appendix B, respectively.
A Brief introduction to these related applications is now presented.
Overview of the System Described in the First Parent Application
The First Parent Application describes a system for a user to create and rate attachments for conducting a search. The search is directed by a hierarchy-free set of topics. The First Parent Application also describes a user application thereof. An implementation of a system incorporating the aspects described in the First Parent Application is called “Topixa” herein. By “Improved Topixa” is meant a Topixa system incorporating one or more aspects of the Second Parent Application and/or of the present invention.
One aspect of the Topixa system described in the First Parent Application is the providing of a set of topics useful for guiding a search, each topic having attachments to one or more items of information, e.g., Web pages that are appropriate for the topic. The set of topics is not necessarily hierarchically arranged. Rather, for a particular search starting with an initial topic or a search phrase, a hierarchy of topics for the particular search is determined on the fly. Each step of the hierarchical search includes selecting a topic or providing a search phrase, and results in a set of suggested topics for furthering the search. At any stage, results for the search so far, e.g., URLs of the information items, are also provided. The set of suggested topics is generated by an analysis of the attachments of the search results under the initial search or the search topic. One aspect of the invention is that the suggested topics include one or more refinement topics determined from the plurality of topics according to a refinement topic criterion.
In one embodiment of Topixa, an initial search page provides for a user to input a search phrase and also to sign-in, in the case that a user is not signed in. Thus, initially, a searcher inputs a search phrase and is presented with a set of suggested topics, including refinement topics, and selected information items that result in searching for the input search phrase. The searcher may now select a topic from the suggested topics, or a search phrase.
In another embodiment of Topixa, an initial set of topics is pre-defined, and this is the initial set of topics used to determine an initial set of suggested topics.
One aspect of the Topixa system described in the First Parent Application is that it provides users, e.g., searchers who have registered by providing registration information, with the ability to create topics. In one version, in which an initial set of topics is pre-defined, users are thus provided with the ability to add to the initial set of topics. Another aspect of the invention is providing the capability for such users to create attachments between information items and topics. Another aspect of the invention is providing for such users the ability to rate attachments. In one embodiment, users are provided with the mechanism to rate an attachment between a topic and an information item using a binary rating system that has a first value (“positive,” positively rating”) and a second value (“negative,” negatively rating”) less favorable than the first value. Another aspect of the invention is a method of calculating an overall attachment quality for each attachment based on the rating of the attachment by users.
Another aspect of the Topixa system described in the First Parent Application is that a registered user may select one or more topics to be “preferred” or “favorites” for that user. That user is presented with a view of the search results that differs from what is presented to another searcher. In one embodiment, the suggested topics for furthering a search are presented in an order in which topics that have been selected to be favorites appear before other topics.
Another aspect of the Topixa system described in the First Parent Application is that suggested topics, e.g., refinement topics for furthering a search are presented in an order determined according to a refinement topic ranking method. In one embodiment, the ranking method depends on how registered users of the system have rated attachments to the search results for each potential refinement topic, in particular, according to the calculated overall attachment quality of the attachments between a potential refinement topic and the information items of the search results.
Yet another aspect of the Topixa system described in the First Parent Application is a carrier medium, e.g., a storage mechanism, for storing a data structure that includes a user data structure to store the set of topics, a topic data structure configured to store the set of topics that are not necessarily hierarchically structured, an attachment data structure configured to store the attachments between topics and information items, e.g., Web pages. The data structures are part of a main data structure. In one embodiment the main data structure is in the form of a set of tables of a relational database, and the topic data structure, the user data structure, and the attachment data structure are each a table of the database.
Overview of the System Described in the Second Parent Application and Extensions Thereof
In one embodiment of the Topixa system described in the First Parent Application, all topic classifications are shared by every user. This feature of the system allows the operator of a service based on the system to create the critical mass of aggregated use knowledge. There is however a need for groups of users to view attachments that are created only by a specific user or only by a specific group of users. Such a need is illustrated by the following examples:
1. Suppose the operator of a Web site called Bay Area Hiker classifies his own site into topics in order to improve searching within his site. The user would like to share these classifications and URLs linked to these topics with some other users of the Improved Topixa system to provide for such other users the ability of searching within these topics, i.e., only in his site.
2. A group of people called the Wild California hiking group maintains a list of adventurous hikes in the area. Members of this group would like to view how other members have classified hikes into topics because members know that other members of this group are better at classifying hikes than some unknown person. That is, it is desired to provide for members of the group the ability of seeing search results only within the attachments belonging to other members of the group.
3. John is a user, and is classifying sushi restaurants in Senegal. John would like to share his classifications, i.e., his topics and attachment ratings with a selected set of friends, e.g., with his friend Brett who John knows is going to Senegal. John would also like to share his Sushi-savvy with Issy. There is a need to share John's attachments with a small group of friends.
One aspect of the Second Parent Application and of the present invention, called “Topixa groups,” is to allow sharing attachments between URLs and topics among a pre-defined group of people. Example 2 above illustrates this need. Such sharing of attachments also creates sharing of search results.
Introducing the Link Collection
FIG. 3A is the same as FIG. 7 of the First Parent Application (incorporated herein by reference Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/609,215) and describes a user interface display 700 that shows, for a search example, how the results of a search at some stage of a search may be shown in two forms: a main display area 750 and a user-specific explorer bar (or other additional window) 760. The presented user interface display 700 includes an indication 719 of the current user, in this example as a Welcome message with a username selected by the user during registration. Provision is also provided for the user to indicate, e.g., by signing in, if the username shown is of a different user. Sign-out provision 729 also is provided, in this example in the explorer bar 760, for the user to sign out.
The main window 750 of the presented user interface display includes a user specific manner of presenting results. For example, the main window 750 includes an indication of the search topic path 703, in this case again “Half Moon Bay>Things to do>Hiking>Trails.” In one embodiment, a provision to add the current search topic path to a stored set of the user's favorite search topic paths is included, in this embodiment as a clickable object 717 labeled “Add to My Topixa” or similar designation, where in this example, “My Topixa” is a- user's user specific information, such as the user's favorite topics, positively rated attachments, and other user specific information. In one embodiment, the main window 750 also includes a message area 745, which in the example shown contains the message “This topic path has been added to My Topixa.” Such a message would result, for example, after the user clicks on the clickable object 717 to make the current search topic path 703 a favorite.
In one embodiment, the main display window 750 of the presented third user interface display 700 further includes the URL results 701, in this embodiment, in three different presentations. The first includes the positively rated, e.g., “favorite” results, that is, those URLs that have attachments to the topic(s) of the search topic path that the user has “selected” to be included as the user's “Favorite” attachments. The second list 743 is of the overall results.
In one embodiment, the main window 750 of the presented user interface display 700 includes in the favorites results 707 a provision to “junk” one or more of the results, e.g., in the form of a check window 721 and a “junk” button 723 appropriately marked with “Delete link from My Topixa,” where “My Topixa” is the list of favorite attachments under the search topic path. Checking any result(s) and clicking on a provided button 723 negatively rates the attachments of the marked URLs to the search topic path.
The main window 750 of the presented user interface display 700 also includes a set of suggested topics in the form of a set of refinement topics 705. In one embodiment, the number of URLs under each of the suggested topics also is displayed. One embodiment of the presented user interface display window 750 further includes a mechanism for the searcher to provide an additional search phrase to search for within the search topic path. In FIG. 3A, this mechanism is in the form of a text window 711 within which the user can enter the search phrase, and a button 715 to initiate the next step in the search.
In one embodiment, the set of refinement topics is presented with an indication of which of the suggested topics are the user's favorite topics. In FIG. 3A, a star is shown in the list 705 to indicate the favorite suggested topics. Furthermore, the ordering is such that the favorite suggested topics are presented before the other suggested topics. In the example shown in FIG. 3A, three of the suggested refinement topics: “family trails,” “long trails,” and “nature hikes” are favorites, e.g., have previously been selected as favorites by this user.
In one embodiment, and of relevance to aspects of the present invention, the user interface display 700 includes a user-specific explorer bar 760 (or similar panel) that provides user specific information. In one embodiment, the present search topic path is displayed 731 if such a search topic path was made favorite. In an alternate embodiment, the present search topic path is displayed 731 even if such a search topic path was not made favorite. A clickable object is provided for displaying and managing all favorite search topic paths, and a clickable object, here labeled “New . . . ” 727 is provided for adding a new search topic path as a favorite search topic path.
In one embodiment, the explorer bar (or similar panel) 760 includes a list 741 of the user's favorite attachments for the present search topic path. The explorer bar (or similar panel) 760 further includes a clickable object 739, labeled in FIG. 3A as “Add current page” for adding an attachment between the currently displayed search topic path, and the Web page displayed in the main window 750. Thus, a user selects a Web page by clicking on one of the results 701. This causes that URL to be served and displayed in the main window 750. A user now clicking on the clickable object 739 causes information to be sent to the server that adds attachments between the URL displayed in the main window and each topic in the currently displayed search topic path 731.
Thus, a mechanism is provided for the user to rate the quality of any attachment between a displayed search result and the search topic path.
In one embodiment, the explorer bar (or similar panel) 760 of the user interface display 700 includes provision for the user to add a topic or subtopic. In the version shown, the provision is in the form of a clickable object 737 that when invoked, causes the server to serve a popup page for adding a new topic, or a subtopic to the presently displayed search topic path, e.g., to the last topic in the search topic path. Each new topic or subtopic becomes a favorite for the particular user.
A particular user's user-specific information (called “My Topixa” in this drawing) includes the user's favorite topics, the user's positively rated attachments, and other user specific information. The results shown in the “My Topixa” window 760 are only the positively rated, e.g., “favorite” results, that is, those URLs that have attachments to the topic(s) of the search topic path that the user has “selected” to be included as the user's “Favorite” attachments.
One might say that user specific results (window 760) are those results from searching within a first “collection” called My Topixa for that user. The searching within the first collection accessible to a first group, e.g., the group consisting of only that user. The other window, window 750 in user interface 700, can be thought of as the results of searching within a second “collection” which includes the whole system. Searching within the second collection is accessible to a second group that in this case includes all the users of Topixa, and in one embodiment, non-user searchers too, i.e., searcher's who have not registered with the system.
An aspect of the invention described in the Second Parent Application, and herein, is generalizing the concepts to provide for defining collections, with each collection accessible to a corresponding group of users defined for the collection. By a “link collection” is meant a set—a virtual “area”—of links, i.e., attachments that can be viewed and searched separately by a group of one or more users, as described herein by way of examples. As a first example, suppose that a user Mary wishes to form a collection of attachments such that she and any other member of a group of mothers she knows in Menlo Park, Calif. can use them. Mary can form a link collection for the group of users. The collection has a name, e.g., the “Menlo Park Moms group” link collection. Mary lets each member of the group know of the existence of this collection, e.g., by letting them know of the name of the collections, and e.g., forming a password and letting the members know of the password. Some members of the group can be provided the privilege of defining links to be within that collection. Other members who do not have this privilege then only have viewing and searching privileges. This provides a member of the group the capability of carrying out a search as described in the First Parent Application, and further, to view the results of such a search that are within the collection, e.g., only classified into topics that are part of the collection, with suggested topics that are only part of the collection, and of URLs that have links to the collection.
As described above, the First Parent Application already describes two types of link collections.                Personal (private) link collections. For a particular user, these are the links, topics, search topic paths, etc., that have been added, i.e., positively rated by the particular user. See, e.g., “My Topixa” in FIG. 3A (the same as FIG. 7 of the First Parent Application) and the description thereof. These are the My Topixa topics, links, etc. The group of users for a personal collection consists of the particular user. When conducting a search, the particular user can view the search results separately, e.g., in a separate window, that is part of that user's personal collection.        The overall collection for the system. This is the “All Topixa” window of results shown in FIG. 3A. Any user sees these results. Thus, the group of users who can view the results of the overall-link collection is the overall set of users. In one embodiment, non-users, e.g., searchers who have not registered with the system also can view such results. This overall link collection is called the system's link collection herein.        
The Second Parent Application generalizes this to have one or more collections that corresponding groups of particular users can see and search within. Each link collection is associated with a user—called the link collection's creator—who defined the collection. Each link collection further has a name—the link collection name—by which the collection may be identified, and a group of people—the link collection group—to whom the collection is accessible, with each member of the group called indeed called a “member” of the link collection group. Alternatively, rather than a group of pre-defined users, each link collection has an associated set of at least one password. A person who knows the password may access and use the link collection. In one version there are two passwords, one to provide editing privilege (see below), and another to provide viewing privilege so that the user may search within the collection. Thus, any member can view results of a search with the collection. Furthermore, in one embodiment, the member's of a collection's group, i.e., the group of people associated with a collection includes a subset of one or more members, including at least the creator, who have editing privilege in that such a member may define topics and search topic paths to be part of the link collection, and with such defining of a topic or search topic path, automatically define all the links that he attached to this topic or search topic path. Thus, any member has viewing privileges to view search results within the group, and some member(s) have editing privileges. In one embodiment, when a member views the name of a link collection, the collection's creator's username is concatenated, in the possessive form, with the collection's name. For example, if Mary created the collection called “Menlo Park Moms group,” then members of the group can search and view search results within this collection, and the collection's name appears as “Mary's Menlo Park Moms group ” in the system and for such users. Of course in other embodiments, the creator may be identified differently.
FIG. 3B is the same as FIG. 3B of the Second Parent Application, and shows an alternate version of the main widow labeled 750 in FIG. 3A (FIG. 7 of the First Parent Application). The term “topic” in FIG. 3B refers to what was called a “search topic path” in the First Parent Application and in the text part of this description. “My Topixa” is an example of a private collection, and the results there under are the results within that private collection. Assume the user has a username Eran. When one or more aspects of the present invention are incorporated, this private collection is called “Eran's links” The main window shown in FIG. 3B further shows the system's link collection called “All Topixa” The viewer can see results that are part of the system's link collection.
FIG. 4 is the same as FIG. 3 of the Second Parent Application, and shows a version of the explorer bar, also called the left pane herein, that, after a user logs into the system, shows user specific information. In FIG. 3A (FIG. 7 of the First Parent Application), this is called the explorer bar 760. FIG. 4 includes the user's private link collection called “Eran's links” and subtopics therein.